[Feature Request] Implementing Goals

[mohammedshariqnawaz]

Hey guys, I have been going over all the information over the past few days and I see that implementing "Goals" is in the roadmap. I wanted to ask if there is a timeline to it? And guidelines if I wanted to help implement it.

[PartyLich]

There's a little bit of discourse in this discussion 28. However, I'd suggest we make this the 'official' tracking issue (and we can break it into sub-issues as/when things are fleshed out).

Afaik, the closest comparison to what users would like is YNAB Targets.

[megawubs]

I like the minimalistic approach described in #28. Only downside I see is discoverability of this budget templating feature.

[CharlesEkkel]

On the discovery issue, we could replace the notes button with a button that toggles whatever UI element we decide on for editing goals? Then notes could be moved to the dropdown menu above rename and delete. IMO notes per category seem like a more niche piece of functionality than goals.

[Kidglove57]

I would prefer the category notes to stay where they are even if Goals are added. Separate reply below re my long term use case in Actual.

[CharlesEkkel]

Fair enough. The obvious solution would just be two have two buttons then, but I wonder if that's starting to get cluttered?

[Kidglove57]

The notes to individual categories have been an integral part of Actual for the 3 years I have been using it. I use the notes box extensively to remind myself of the make up of different budgeted amounts. Particularly multiple subscriptions and the like. In this regards they are very similar to category notes in YNAB4 and nYNAB. For me they are essential.

I would hope the Notes facility per category could be retained alongside goals - or even including the goals template functionality already devised by @bdoherty

PS there is a separate per month notes box at the top of the budget but I use that for more general notes of special spends during a month and other activity.

[CharlesEkkel]

I like the idea of having the goals within the notes using the plaintext+autocomplete approach, but as @megawubs mentioned there's the matter of discoverability - I can imagine it being somewhat difficult to telegraph that goals even exist if that were the case.

The notes button could toggle both the goals & notes in one tooltip perhaps?

[megawubs]

Taking some inspiration from Todoist, they show icons to indicate functionally. See screenshot:

This, in combination with autocomplete is something to try I think.

[Kidglove57]

Testing @bdoherty Goals templates again right now. They work really well and are very flexible. Recommended at least as an initial implementation/quick win

[megawubs]

I would also like to test this approach. But my budget is not hosted locally. I've actual-server as an addon on my home assistant installation. Any idea how I could test this or is this just not possible with a self hosted version?

[Kidglove57]

You could try this:
https://github.com/shall0pass/actual-server/pkgs/container/actual-server/59448194?tag=goals

And refer to use notes here:
https://github.com/bdoherty/actual-budget-template

Needless to say, ENTIRELY at your own risk as none of this is throughly tested or “approved”.

[megawubs]

Thanks, I'll try on another budget first

[megawubs]

Also something I would like is an ability to see the progress of a goal. But this could also be something to add later, when the basic goal feature is in place

[rich-howell]

Copied from #28

I'm aware I'm biased, but I quite like how I implemented https://github.com/bdoherty/actual-budget-template. I never could get my head around the names of the YNAB goals, and so had a design goal of keep it simple.

If we wanted to start with an MVP (minimal viable product) we could reuse the existing comment style input that I implemented in actual-budget-template, and add menu items to apply the budget template for a single category, for a category group of for the entire budget. Personally I quite like the free text entry style of Todoist, and so potential we could continue to use comments and just add regexp parsing to the comments to make a richer text entry experience.

Examples from actual-budget-template.

Syntax	Description	How I use this
#template $50	Budget $50 each month	Regular monthly bills, such as internet
#template up to $150	Budget up to $150 each month	Variable expenses, such as petrol and groceries
#template $50 up to $300	Budget $50 each month up to a maximum of $300	Funding rainy day categories, such as replacement shoes and bicycle repairs
#template $500 by 2022-03	Break down large, less-frequent expenses into manageable monthly expenses	Saving for a replacement car in a few years
#template $500 by 2021-03 repeat every 6 months	Break down large, less-frequent expenses into manageable monthly expenses	Biannual credit card fees
#template $500 by 2021-03 repeat every year	Break down large, less-frequent expenses into manageable monthly expenses	Annual insurance premium
#template $500 by 2021-03 repeat every 2 years	Break down large, less-frequent expenses into manageable monthly expenses	Domain name renewal
#template $500 by 2021-12 spend from 2021-03	Budget $500 by December. Any spending between March and December is OK.	Christmas presents, overseas holiday, or any other expenses that I will be partially paying for before the target period ends.
#template $500 by 2021-12 spend from 2021-03 repeat every year
#template $500 by 2021-12 spend from 2021-03 repeat every 2 years
#template $10 repeat every week starting 2022-01-03	Budget $10 a week
#template $10 repeat every week starting 2022-01-03 up to 80	Budget $10 a week, up to a maximum of $80
#template $10 repeat every 2 weeks starting 2022-01-04	Budget $10 fortnightly
#template $10 repeat every 9 weeks starting 2022-01-04 up to 30	Budget $10 every 9 weeks, up to a maximum of $30

The nice thing about freer text entry UI (vs a form interface), is it allows us to easily have Multiple Template Lines

More examples from actual-budget-template

Budget $200/month for 3 months, then $400/month for the next 3 months, repeating.

#template $600 by 2021-03 repeat every 6 months
#template $1200 by 2021-06 repeat every 6 months

Streaming Services: $42.97

Netflix
#template $24.99
Disney Plus
#template $9.99
Amazon Prime
#template $7.99

$120 in February 2022, $130 in March 2022

#template $10 repeat every 2 weeks starting 2022-01-04
#template $100

[Kidglove57]

I have continued to use these templates to fill my budgeted amounts at the beginning of each month - heartily recommended.

[shall0pass]

Same here @Kidglove57 . I rather like the simplicity of it.